What are your favorite gardening books?

15 years ago

I just read George's post about the book, The Resilient Gardener. It got me thinking that with the Winter upon us, we might all be ready to read something inspirational, informational, or dreamy...so besides the seed catalogues:

What books are in your library that constantly refer to?

What books do think are "must haves" for veggie gardens?

What books do you borrow or wish you had?

If we can't go outside, maybe we can read inside :)

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Comments (11)

macky77
15 years ago
The New Seed Starter's Handbook by Nancy Bubel (so much detail it's indispensable to me now)

The Truth About Organic Gardening by Jeff Gillman (VERY eye opening)

The Truth About Garden Remedies by Jeff Gillman (don't waste time on what doesn't work)

The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman (just WOW in general, so many great and practical ideas, great illustrations)

Gardening When It Counts by Steve Solomon
Just finished this one and I'm so grateful to have read it. So many gardeners nowadays think square-foot is the only way to garden and rows and good spacing are evil. It's just not so. While the author might be a tad over-the-top and I'm not on board with everything he subscribes to, there's some darn good common sense here that needed to be said. Awesome, practical book. I've already been to the local shops tracking down ingredients for COF; going to give it a trial run this season. If it works well, this is going to become a definite go-to book for me.
albert_135 　 39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
15 years ago
8B-NorCalif - definitely look at the Sunset Western Garden Book.

I would never recommend buying a book if you can first look at it in a library.
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alabamanicole
15 years ago
Suzanne Ashworth's "Seed to Seed" is the only must-have on my shelf.

I have Steve Solomon's "Gardening When it Counts" and I agree with macky77 that it provides a much needed counterbalance to the square foot books. Nonetheless, he gets a lot of stuff just plain wrong for my climate. But it's worth getting for the chapter on compost alone.

If you don't already grow year-round or nearly year-round, Eliot Coleman's "Four-Season Harvest" is a fabulous introduction to the possibilities.
firstmmo
Original Author
15 years ago
Just returned Eliot Coleman's book to the library and really loved it. Not quite perfect for our CA climate since he is in Maine, but there was still lots of info to glean.

I picked up The New Seed Starter and requested a hold for The Resilient Gardener. Steve Solomon's book is missing from the library and our county only has one copy--bummer. I own the Sunset book and do love it!

Keep those suggestions coming--not just for my zone for everyone! Happy Reading!!
loribee2
15 years ago
Right now, I've been glomming on to "Golden Gate Gardening", by Pam Peirce. It's great for anyone in the SF Bay area who grows vegetables and doesn't understand why someone who lives 6 miles away can have such different results.

My newbie book was Ed Smith's "Vegetable Gardeners Bible". Easy to read, nicely laid out. Gives you the basics of everything. I still refer to it here and there.

Thanks for starting this thread! I've already tagged a couple books to my Amazon wish list.
dgbeig
15 years ago
Golden Gate Gardener has been my bible for the last 10 years. Although I don't find every bit of information in it to be true, (timelines, etc), it is an unbelievable resource for almost anything veggie-gardening related.

I also like Northern California Gardening: A Month-by-Month Guide. I like seeing the month by month breakdown.
instar8
15 years ago
Just bought my 4th copy of "New Organic Grower", along with 'The Resilient Gardener" on George's recommendation....Coleman's book is a old fav, my other copies were loaned out and never returned...except for one that i traded for a huge box of dried seaweed from a GW friend in SW Alaska. I'm thinking "Resilient" is gonna be my new fav. Review to come!
lavender_lass
15 years ago
Jennifer Bartley's "Designing the New Kitchen Garden: An American Potager Handbook" is a wonderful book, especially if you're interested in the history and layout of potagers.

Sally Jean Cunningham's "Great Garden Companions" is my go to book, when it comes to companion planting and beneficial insects.

Ann Reilly's "Gardening Naturally: Getting the Most From Your Organic Garden" is another favorite. I check this out from the library all the time, but should try to find my own copy :)

Jennifer Bartley is supposed to have a new book coming out, so I'll be going to the bookstore soon!
brookw_gw
15 years ago
Though not technically a "gardening" book, The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell will, I imagine, lighten anybody's mood over the long, dreary winter.

Brook
firstmmo
Original Author
15 years ago
The lirbrary still can't locate the one copy of the Steve Solomon book and I am fifth on the hold list for The Resilient Gardener....might need to go out and purchase it. I considered downloading it to my Kindle but after reading the eBook post on this forum, I am hesitant.

Any other books people use as reference?
spogarden
15 years ago
I like "Your Organic garden" with Jeff Cox and "High Yield gardening" by Hunt & Bortz. Both great reads and give a lot of practical advise. I find a lot of good books at estate sales, usually for about $1 each.